Intel stock extends gains after report of possible U.S. government stake
Investing.com-- Amazon.com’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) self-driving start-up, Zoox, will scale up production next year as it proceeds with plans for a commercial launch of its robotaxi fleet in the U.S., the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
Zoox will open a new site in Califronia’s Bay Area to increase its production capacity beyond a small facility in Fremont, the FT report said, citing comments from Zoox co-founder Jesse Levindon.
The facility is expected to mark a sharp increase in production, with Zoox having so far deployed about two dozen test vehicles across six U.S. cities, the FT report said. The company also plans to launch public rides in Las Vegas this year, followed by San Francisco.
Zoox’s expansion comes after President Donald Trump announced plans to loosen rules and make it easier to deploy self-driving cars on public roads, amid heightened competition from Chinese companies in the sector.
Zoox’s biggest U.S. rival- Alphabet’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Waymo- has already launched a fully public service in several U.S. cities. Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) also unveiled a robotaxi– the Cybercab– in late-2024, which it plans to launch in scale by 2026.
Amazon had acquired Zoox for $1.3 billion in 2020.